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Sox, Twins tie in opener

Sox, Twins tie in opener

By Ian Browne
/
MLB.com |

RED SOX 4, TWINS 4 in 10 inningsat Fort Myers, Fla.Wednesday, Feb. 28

Red Sox at the plate: David Ortiz drove in his first run of the spring, an RBI single to right in the third. Julio Lugo, making his Boston debut, also had an RBI single in that inning. Highly-touted prospect Jacoby Ellsbury had a two-run single and stole a base. Rookie Dustin Pedroia produced a single, a walk and scored two runs.

Twins at the plate: Defending American League batting champion Joe Mauer belted a three-run homer against Julian Tavarez in the fifth inning. Rondell White also had a productive night, going 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Red Sox on the mound: Ace Curt Schilling looked sharp in his first start, allowing two hits and no runs over two innings. Brendan Donnelly also turned in an effortless inning in his first audition for the closer's role.

Twins on the mound: Matt Garza, trying to win a spot in the rotation, held the Red Sox hitless over two innings while striking out one. Scott Baker didn't fare as well, getting belted around for seven hits and four runs over 1 1/3 innings.

Grapefruit League records: Red Sox 0-0-1; Twins 0-0-1.

Up next: The Twins travel to Tampa for a 12:15 p.m. ET game against the Yankees on Thursday. Right-hander Carlos Silva makes the start in that one. The Red Sox have split-squad contests. One group will stay in Fort Myers and host Northeastern University, with Josh Beckett taking the mound at 1:05 p.m. The other crew will go to Dunedin and face the Blue Jays at 1:05 p.m., backed by left-hander Kason Gabbard.

Ian Browne is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.